Photo by Great Beyond on Flickr.

Keep the arts

Parents are trying to fight a $300,000 cut from the Fillmore Arts Center’s program for elementary school arts instruction. DCPS says the cut is because some schools decided to stop participating. (Examiner)  

Adios at Stuart-Hobson?

The new “small schools” thresholds and budget allocations mean Stuart-Hobson will lose some Spanish instruction and its librarian and technology teacher; Watkins will lose many resources as well. (Capitol Hill Cluster)  

Boundary plan delayed

DCPS won’t be releasing proposed boundary changes in June, but will take until the fall. They still believe the changes can go into effect for the 2014-2015 school year. (Post)  

Activists sue to stop closures

Empower DC has filed a lawsuit against the closures, arguing that they have a “disparate impact” on African Americans and the poor. DCPS “vigorously denies” that this is the case. (DCist, CBS)  

“Principal of the year” leaving

David Pinder, principal of the DC magnet McKinley Technology High School, is leaving in June to head an educational nonprofit. He is the most recent of several McKinley administrators to depart. (Post)  

Atlanta teachers indicted for cheating

A conspiracy to to doctor kids’ test results led to over 30 arrests and indictments. Some wonder if these scandals are the inevitable price of linking teacher assessment to student test scores. (Huffington Post, NYT)  

NJ preschool shows long-term benefits

After New Jersey required free full-day preschool, the achievement gap shrank 20%-40% for 4th/5th graders who had attended 2 years of preschool, in literacy/language arts, math, and science. (Education Week)  

All teachers are good?

Florida, Tennessee, and Michigan have subjective teacher evaluations; 97-98% of teachers rate “effective” or “highly effective”. This complicates efforts to replace testing-based assessment with subjective evaluation.  (NYT)  

CT raising graduation requirements

Connecticut, concerned about students’ need for remedial classes when they enter college, is requiring more years of history, math, foreign language, and technology. Laudable, but what will the impact on dropout rates be, among those who will never attend college? (New Haven Independent)